Cleaning VS not cleaning

I wash the racks & holders in the dishwasher after each use, mostly to just get the gunk off. I use a plastic spatula and wipe up the grease that accumlated on the bottom, mostly to prevent a grease fire. I usually use the spatula to scrape the sides & door, just to keep the build up from getting too deep.

I think at 225 - 250 most, if any are there, pathagens are destroyed.

I have had mine since 2003. Always wash down the racks used for the smoke. As far as washing with "any Kind of detergent," maybe twice a year. Once the smoker is cool I may or may not scrape the grease out of the bottom. The smoker get used quite often and no one has ever got sick.

FWIW...!

HypnoChuck,

As mentioned above, I put the side rack holders and the racks in the dishwasher with the dish washer set on "pot washer." I then take a wad of paper towel and lightly wipe off any access flaked carbon from the walls, door and top. Then using a tip from the "Two Greyhounds" who are commercial smokers, the firebox and floor are washed with bottled lemon juice, sometimes using a green plastic scrub pad. Then rinse it with fresh water.

The next item of house keeping is to reline the top of the firebox and the floor. Don't forget to punch the drain hole - failed to do that once, but only once. The Cookshack is then always ready to smoke at the drop of a hat. With the AmeriQue, it requires an additional piece of foil folded over the small lip just above the firebox in the rear. Not counting the time in the dishwasher it takes me all of 10 minutes to clean the smoker with lemon juice and foil it.

Hope this helps, if so thank the Two Greyhounds, aka prisonchef.

Smokemullet

My only cleaning tool for the inside of the box is a "credit card".. ya know.. the fake ones we get as advertisemnts from credit card companies looking for a new sucker.. er client. I get about one a week of those. They are great for scraping loose carbon from the insides.. after it all hits the floor of te box, I remove the old foil and use the card to scrape up any buildup of grease that got under the foil.. there's always some.. then use the paper towel to finish up. Works for me.

Oh yes.. the shelves.. I bring them into the house, spray them with Amazing cleaner that I buy from the Dollar Store.. and finish cleaning in the sink with soapy water.

Everything that comes out I put in the dishwasher on high heat/pots and pans. I get any loose material out, then wipe out with paper towels while it is still warm so it is easy to soak up. I have never cleaned the inside with
any kind of detergent or anything else in over 3 years. I can cook chicken without anything in the woodbox and it comes out with smoke flavor!

Nope, noone gets sick. LMAO

If you must use a scrubber, only use brass or plastic. A steel wired brush will cause damage. I do like the credit card as a scraper idea.

You can find cheap plastic putty kinves in the paint dept at places like ACE Hardware that work just dandy. They cost less than a buck.

Other than scraping the loose stuff after a couple of loads, all I do is clean the bottom with bottled lemon juice. It cleans the grease up easily. Thanks to Prisonchef, I think, for that tip.

Shelves soak in Special Green for an hour or two then rinsed off. Easy as pie.

I've never used any kind of cleaner, lemon juice or otherwise, in my 50 since 2001. I scrape the flakes on the sides and top peridically. If I get a buildup of grease on the bottom I scrape that out. Never had a problem yet.

Yes, you're working to hard at this

If I showed you the inside of my contest smokers...

But I met a guy at a contest that EVERY contest he used oven cleaner to get the FE back to raw stainless. Now that's overkill.

Me, I clean anything that comes in contact with food (only the racks, not the side holders)

Put foil on the wood box and remove it after use
Put foil on the bottom of the smoke and remove after use.

I use a putty knife and scrape off any "chunks"

I too use old credit cards or the fake ones. I wash the racks and side holder in the dish washer. I use foil as much as possible.

I want people to see the usage. I do not want them to see something that looks like new. I want them to know that the CS has seen a lot of action and it can take it.

I just want my smoker to stay seasoned so the meat cooks well and tastes good.

Well 'Smokin' it's good to hear you are still doing it the way I learned from you back in '01..:>

I work in a cheese plant that runs 24-7. We have very large cookers that have steam jets on them. Even after a round of cip system the jets are still filthy. We then use 1oz. of hydrogen peroxide,3oz. lemon juice, to 2 cups of warm water.....sounds funny but works great and is very gentle! i hane owned my smoker for 6 months and i tried this once on bottom only. Let soak for 10 mn. and worked great!

Thanks all, for all the helpful replys. I will continue to put racks in the dishwasher, mostly because it it easy, but I will try to switch from dishsoap on the insides to the scrapers and lemon Juice
Thanks again for all the help
HypnoChuck